Group: Animal control in Tuscaloosa County lacking

Friday

Mar 8, 2013 at 12:01 AM

TUSCALOOSA | Tuscaloosa County resident Sherry Hassell tried to help a hungry stray dog in December by calling the Tuscaloosa County animal control. The problem was, she said, it took more than three weeks for an animal control worker to call her back.

By Lydia Seabol AvantStaff Writer

TUSCALOOSA | Tuscaloosa County resident Sherry Hassell tried to help a hungry stray dog in December by calling the Tuscaloosa County animal control. The problem was, she said, it took more than three weeks for an animal control worker to call her back. It was partly because of confusion about how to contact animal control, since that department is no longer being handled by the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, Hassell said.The other problem: There is one full-time and one part-time animal control officer on duty for the county. It’s just not enough to serve the county well, Hassell said. “It was a mess, a real mess,” Hassell said.A local group — Alliance for Animal Welfare — has been formed to work with county leaders, with the group’s goal to improve the county’s animal control service. The group has secured more than 900 signatures on a petition asking the Tuscaloosa County Commission to dedicate more money to animal control so that additional officers can be hired. According to Hassell, in addition to the lack of animal control officers, the cages used to transport animals in the backs of animal trucks are not covered from the weather. She said the department needs better equipment.The Alliance for Animal Welfare will meet with Jim Patrie, who heads up animal control for the county, and County Commissioners Jerry Tingle and Reginald Murray on March 19 to discuss their complaints.“Right now, it’s just the review stage,” Tingle said. “We will go over the information they have and look at all the areas, including manpower and the equipment.”Patrie said the county is already expanding animal control services to fill the void. The county has ordered a new truck for animal control and has selected a retired law enforcement officer who has a background in animal control to serve as a new part-time officer, Patrie said. He will begin later this month, Patrie said. Later this year, Patrie said he would like to hire a full-time animal control officer so the county has two who work full time and one who works part-time. “We are busy. We inherited this position and duty when (Sheriff Ted Sexton) handed it back to the county out of the clear blue,” Patrie said. “We had to scramble and get some men signed on, we were able to do that and get them outfitted and now we see where we are.”The County Commission gave the Sheriff’s Office funding to handle animal control calls in 1997. In December 2010, Sexton shifted all animal calls to the commission office after the deputy who had handled animal control for the Sheriff’s Office was unable to continue performing those duties.In April 2011, the commission established an animal control division under Patrie, the solid waste director. But at the time, the sheriff agreed to continue handling vicious animal calls, while the commission would handle calls involving stray animals.Sexton’s decision to quit handling vicious animals and abuse cases came in early 2012 after commissioners questioned why deputies were not dispatched to a vicious animal call in Coker. Animal control officers responded and eventually captured a dog that had attacked a child who was getting off a school bus.Patrie’s office under the County Commission is now handling all animal control calls. If there is a problem with an animal, call 205-464-8225.The Alliance for Animal Welfare’s next meeting will be held at the community room at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Tuscaloosa Police Department, 3801 Mill Creek Ave. Rhonda Parker of Alabama Voters for Responsible Animal Legislation will speak to the group. The meeting is open to the public, Hassell said.